The Better Man
by Dots321
Summary: Troy's year is not starting out well. With secrets coming to light that will tear his family apart and his Dad obsessing over basketball, he doesn't know where to turn. Until he meets the enticing new girl with secrets of her own...
1. Chapter 1

**Hmm. I feel like I'm a little old to be writing a high school musical fic, but I can't help myself. Here goes!**

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Troy allowed himself a small sigh of relief as his shot--his twentieth free throw in a row to be exact--swished through the net. The sun had sunk almost out of sight, and with an exhausted groan Troy realized it was getting late, and he still had all of his homework left to do. He began trudging back to the house when a heavy hand came down on his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" Troy's father and coach implored of him. With the start of the basketball season fast approaching and the Wildcats getting some pre-season buzz for the possibility of a state title, Coach Jack Bolton was more determined than ever to get Troy into the best shape of his life. Hence the after school practicing, which was becoming an all too common event.

"In?" Troy replied, "I thought you said I was done when I got my 20 free throws." He looked up at his father hopefully, but was disappointed with his response.

"No, I said you were done with _basketball_ when you did that. Not running. 4 laps around the block should do it for today." Troy groaned, but nonetheless set out like his father asked of him. His tired legs screamed in protest at the movement, but after a lap they had loosened up a little. The cool air was refreshing, and he let himself relax into a steady pace. It seemed his father was getting more and more unreasonable with his practice schedule, but what else was new. Troy was used to the demanding practices his dad held, but it did seem a little early to be getting so intense. The season hadn't even _started_ yet.

As Troy ran past the house at the start of his fourth lap, he passed his dad walking out to the car and pulling on his jacket. "Troy!" Jack shouted after him, "tell your mother not to wait up, I'll be out late. And you think that pace is gonna win the state championship? Pick it up!" Troy breathed heavily as he forced his legs to move just a little bit faster. Sweat blurred his vision as he heard his father's truck crank up. Momentarily, it was coasting beside him. "8 miles per hour Troy? Pathetic. Come on!" The car picked up speed as Jack yelled at his son out the window to keep up. Troy's legs moved faster and faster, each step hurting more than the last. Finally, the engine roared as the truck disappeared into the distance, and Troy, done with his last lap, collapsed in the front yard to let his aching body recover. It was going to be a long year.

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Troy walked into school the next morning exhausted. He had stayed up half the night trying to finish his english paper, only to wake up in the morning with his head on the keyboard and two pages left to write. It would have to be late but his uptight English teacher, Ms. Lewis, was not going to be happy.

Nonetheless he arrived in home room just on time and plastered on a smile. He gave his best friend Chad a quick high-five before sliding into the seat next to him in the back of the room. They had just started up a conversation about the upcoming weekend when Ms. Darbus made her usual dramatic entrance.

"Class!" She exclaimed, slamming a book down onto her desk and causing most of the students to jump in their seats. "I am happy to announce that we have a new student today. One Ms." she squinted here, trying to read the name on the sheet of paper in front of her, "Gabriella Montez will be joining us from now on. Would you care to introduce yourself, Ms. Montez?" Ms. Darbus directed her question to a girl sitting in the second row, on the far right of the room, and Troy craned his neck to see her. She was sunk down low in her seat, obviously embarassed, and all Troy could see of her was her dark, curly locks.

After a second of silence, she stood up and turned around to face the class. She gave a little wave and piped up in a quiet voice, "Hi. I'm Gabriella. I just moved here from California and, um, I guess that's about it." Quickly, she turned back around and sunk down low in her seat. '_Man, she's shy_,' Troy thought to himself. '_But kinda cute, too._' He didn't have time to spare much more thought for her, however, as Ms. Darbus immediately plunged into their latest lesson on Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

Troy's mind couldn't help but wander as he mindlessly copied down notes on the timeless play. He had five more classes after this, and basketball practice during his off period. Next he went home for _more_ basketball practice and homework. Then to bed, and to do it all over tomorrow. He couldn't help but think, with a sarcastic smirk, '_O! what a rogue and peasant slave am I!' *_

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"Mr. Bolton." Ms. Lewis accentuated each word with a dramatic step in his direction. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun that furthered her already intimidating appearance. "Would you care to give me a reason as to why you are the _only_ student to not have his paper ready to turn in today?" Troy sunk down a little lower in his seat as she advanced on him. Ms. Lewis had a reputation throughout school for being extremely strict and void of any sympathy at all, but she seemed to have a special dislike for Troy. She took every chance she could get to belittle him or make him feel uncomfortable. Troy gulped before his response.

"Um. No ma'am? I guess I just fell asleep before I had a chance to finish it. Sorry."

Ms. Lewis's dark blue eyes narrowed behind thin glasses. "Well sorry isn't going to cut it this time. Detention today, after school. And I'm taking a letter grade off; if you don't have it by tomorrow it's a zero. Got it?" Troy nodded and immediately dropped his gaze down to his desk; Ms. Lewis's piercing glare was starting to freak him out. She turned on her heel and made her way back to the blackboard.

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The bell signaling the end of the day finally rang, and Troy shouldered his backpack before heading to detention. Luckily, the regular basketball season hadn't started yet so he wasn't missing any after school practices. His dad would surely be furious if he was. Coming to a halt in front of Ms. Darbus's empty room, he tried the doorknob and found that it was locked. That was odd, Ms. Darbus always presided over detentions, but it seemed that today no one was there.

Shrugging, Troy turned around to leave and collided head on with a girl holding a large stack of books with dark curly hair. _The new girl!_ Troy thought.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you!" Troy babbled, he ran a hand nervously through his hair before hurriedly bending down to help her. The girl was gathering all of her things and looked up at Troy when he talked.

"Oh, it's fine. It's my fault, sorry." Standing up at the same time, they awkwardly stood for a moment in the newly deserted hallway.

"Oh! I'm Troy." He smiled at her, and stuck out his hand.

She shook it, and replied, "nice to meet you. I'm --"

"Gabriella." They finished in unison. "I'm in your homeroom, I remembered your name from this morning," Troy explained. "So, what are you doing still here?"

"Oh. Well, um, I got detention, actually."

"Detention! On your first day! Man, you must be a troublemaker," Troy teased, raising one eyebrow in mock conspiracy.

Gabriella blushed. "Not at all!" she replied, "It's just my English teacher, Ms. Lewis I think was her name, gave me detention for being late. It took me forever to find her classroom."

"No way!" Troy replied, "on your first day here? What a jerk. She gave me detention too! That woman is out of control. Well, seeing as I don't think there _is_ detention today," Troy gestured to the empty classroom, "would you like me to show you out? Wouldn't want to get lost again," he joked.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Together, they headed toward the front of the school, and said their goodbyes outside. As Troy trudged home, he couldn't help but think that there was something different about that girl.

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Troy banged open the front door to his house, planning on heading straight upstairs to catch a short nap before his dad had him back out on the court. He dropped his backpack, but jumped unexpectedly as his dad stood up from the coach combing through his hair and buttoning up his shirt.

"Troy!" he barked, obviously surprised. "What are you doing here! Don't you have detention this afternoon?"

"Well, yeah," he explained, "but no one was in the room, so I just figured I'd have to do it another da--wait, how'd you know I had detention?" He asked, stepping closer to the couch, trying to see what was going on. His heart stopped for a brief second and he stumbled backwards when he saw who had been laying, half naked, underneath his father.

"Ms. Lewis!?"

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**Review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeee, this is a quick update. Thanks so much to my first reviewers ever! You made me very very happy.**

**Here goes part dos!**

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Previously:_ "Troy!" he barked, obviously surprised. "What are you doing here! Don't you have detention this afternoon?"_

_"Well, yeah," he explained, "but no one was in the room, so I just figured I'd have to do it another da--wait, how'd you know I had detention?" He asked, stepping closer to the couch, trying to see what was going on. His heart stopped for a brief second and he stumbled backwards when he saw who had been laying, half naked, underneath his father._

_"Ms. Lewis!?"_

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"Troy!" She exclaimed, sitting up and straightening out her wrinkled clothes. She looked up at him innocently with a barely noticeable hint of satisfaction in her eyes. "Don't you have a paper to be working on?"

Troy was floored. He just found out his _father_ was having an affair with his _English teacher_, and all she cared about was his stupid paper? Something was seriously messed up. He chose to ignore her comment, more pressing matters were at hand.

"Dad?" he asked, looking instead towards his father, unmistakable traces of hurt seeping into his tone. "Wh-what are you doing? Where's Mom?"

Jack looked uncomfortable. "She's out. Why don't you, um, just go up to your room?" Troy stood there, trying to let the magnitude of the situation sink in.

"But -"

"Now!" Troy jumped at his father's harsh tone, and slowly turned towards the stairs. He glanced once more at Ms. Lewis, saw her gloating smirk, and suddenly realized that he should be angry right now. Very angry. Soon rage like he had never known before was washing over him, bubbling to the surface, threatening to explode...

"NO!" Troy shouted, whirling back around to face the two culprits, "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're having an _affair_ with my _teacher?_ Dad, what are you thinking? You can get fired for that! And not to mention Mom, she'll be devastated." Troy was ranting, pacing back and forth and throwing his hands up in the air. "Did you really think you were going to get away with this? How retarded _are_ you two? I mean, honestly--" Troy was interrupted by a hard fist connecting with his right cheek. He went flying through the air, sliding to a halt at the bottom of the staircase. Shocked, he leaned back against the wall and held his face with one hand. "What's gotten into you, Dad?"

His Dad was the one pacing now, nervously running his hands through his hair and beginning to break out into a cool sweat. "None of that stuff," He waved his hands around emphatically, "you just said is going to happen. Because," He stepped closer, and Troy tried to retreat into the unforgiving wall. Jack spoke again, with venom, "No one is ever going to find out about this. _No one._ Got it?"

Troy just stared at his father, until his fist slammed into the wall a few inches to the left of his head at lightening speed. Troy jumped, and his hands flew up to protect himself. "Yeah, yeah I got it Dad. I won't tell anyone about your stupid affair." With that, he pushed himself up off the wall and ran to the stairs. He took them two at a time and paused briefly at the top when he heard a small voice call his name.

"Troy," it was Ms. Lewis. "I know you won't tell anyone. You wouldn't want to fail 11th grade english. Colleges surely wouldn't look favorably on that now would they?" _Damn_. Troy clenched his fists by his sides but managed not to make any comment, just met her cold blue eyes with an icy stare of his own. He walked down the hallway to his room, threw the door open with flourish and then slammed it harder than he ever had before.

He stood in the middle his room for a good minute looking around for something, _anything_ he could break. He wanted to scream and yell and kick and fight; to tell someone how freaking angry he was. A while later after his heart had slowed its furious pounding and the tremors in his hands had stopped he backed up to the wall, slid down to the floor, and began to cry.

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Troy didn't know how long he cried, but it had to have been a while. By the time he finally quit his nose was running and his eyes were red and puffy. It was dark outside. Troy wandered into the bathroom, wetting a washcloth with cold water and holding the soothing cloth over his face. When he took it off, he couldn't help but grimace at his reflection, man did he look pathetic. Not to mention there was already a big dark bruise forming on his right cheek. He touched it lightly but flinched at the contact. A new wave of anger passed over him as he remembered his father punching him, but it faded almost as soon as it had come.

He exited the bathroom and made his way to his bed, grabbing his basketball before sinking down into the mattress. He threw the ball up and down, up and down, almost hypnotized by the ball's perfect spin. If only life could be as straightforward as basketball. Breaking the rules isn't tolerated under any circumstances. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins, no questions asked. Troy could see himself now, calling a referee to come bursting into his living room.

"Yes," Troy would say, "It appears my father's been having an affair. That's not really allowed, is it? Seems like that would be a penalty. Do I get a few points for that?"

The ref would agree with him wholeheartedly, and would leave his father with a dangerous warning: with a second offense, he could be thrown out of the game.

Troy snorted to himself. He was being ridiculous. There was no ref coming to fix everything now, he was going to have to figure this one out all by himself. Taking a deep breathe, he knew what he really had to do. He had a paper to write; and it was going to be a damn good one. He wasn't going to give that woman--that lousy, pathetic, _disgusting_ woman--anything to hold against him.

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"Come on Troy! Is that really as fast as you can run? Pick it up!" Coach Jack Bolton was yelling at his son. It was the wee hours of the morning and the sun was just now making its way over the horizon. Troy's father had pulled him out of bed sometime around 5, muttering about how he had skipped practice the day before and had to make it up today if he expected to play halfway decent this season. Jack leaned casually against the basketball goal, legs crossed and staring at his black stopwatch.

Troy shot past him again. To be honest, Jack had lost count of the number of suicides Troy had done, and he was actually going quite fast. But there's always room for improvement, and his son was going to be the best if it killed him.

"Alright, ten more to go!" Jack heard a barely audible groan but Troy kept going nonetheless. Finally, he was finished. He leaned over on the side of the court, hands on his knees and breathing heavily. His dark brown hair stuck to his forehead with sweat.

"Catch!" Jack yelled, chunking a ball in his direction; he needed to be on guard at all times. Troy barely reacted in time, snatching the ball one moment before it would have come crashing into his face.

"Alright, let's do some layup drills before we call it a morning."

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Troy trudged into school roughly one hour later, his hair sopping wet from his recent shower. He stopped to put some books in his locker and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He had been unable to sleep the night before, and it had been late after he finished his paper anyway. Not to mention his dad had woken him up for basketball early in the morning, pretending like nothing was wrong.

Troy didn't know what to do. He knew that he needed to tell his Mom. Not that he wanted to; Troy could only imagine the hurt it was going to cause her, but she deserved to know.

"Morning Troy!" A cheerful voice piped up from behind him. He spun around to find the one person he didn't want to see. "You get that paper finished?" Ms. Lewis winked at Troy and gave him a grin.

"Yes ma'am," he ground out, turning on his heel and stalking away before she had a chance to say anything else. The _nerve_ of her! Troy was still fuming when he rounded a corner, coming face to face with Gabriella, the new girl from the day before. She smiled shyly and stepped to the side, continuing down the hall when Troy yelled out to her, "Hey! Gabriella! You headed to homeroom?" She stopped and turned around, blushing furiously.

"Yeah, I am."

"Well, I think you're a little confused. It's this way." Troy grinned at her, pointing in the other direction. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

"Thanks." They started their walk down the hallway together, and for the first time in a long while Troy felt that something was right.

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**End of chapter 2, I hope it wasn't too boring!**

**Review pretty please :)**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know this chapter took forever, but what can I say, I've been busy! Had to get through midterms and Christmas first. Sorryyy

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Troy was sinking further and further into his little funk. It had been about two weeks since The Incident, as Troy had come to call it, and he still wasn't sure just what to do. He couldn't look his mother in the eye. Or his father, for that matter. When Troy's mom had come home the night after his little discovery, she had given him a peck on the cheek and grinned.

"Hey boys," She had said, "how was you all's day? I'm gonna go put dinner in the oven. Chicken caserole, your favorite, Jack." She nudged him, before dropping her bags and heading to the kitchen. And he _smiled_ at her. It looked so casual, and normal. Like something Troy'd seen hundreds of times before. How long had this been going on, anyway? And how could he smile at her when he was screwing everything up?

It was then that Troy swore he wouldn't tell her. _Couldn't_ tell her. She was just too innocent, and it would tear her apart. So he tried to pretend that nothing had changed; that nothing was wrong.

This day was just like any other. He was exhausted, having been up almost all night the night before after a grueling basketball practice. He entered the lunchroom and sank down into a seat at the table with all of his friends.

"Hey man, what's up?" Troy's best friend, Chad Danforth, inquired of him.

"Not too much. The usual," Troy shrugged. He shoved his food around on his plate for a while before sighing and pushing the tray away. Recently he just hadn't had that big of an appetite.

He didn't notice Chad exchange glances and frowns with others around the table. His friends, all of them, were worried about him. He'd seemed distant recently, distracted.

"Is everything," Chad started, and bit his lip before continuing. "Is everything okay? I mean, you've just been kinda..." he trailed off, and noticed Troy wasn't paying any attention to him anyway. His eyes were drawn to the new girl walking past with a tray of food, headed to the far corner of the lunch room.

Her head was down, and her curls bounced a little with every step. Troy hadn't really talked to her since those first few days. Sure, he smiled at her occasionally and said hello, but that was about as far as their relationship went. Relationship? Could it even be called that? No, Probably not. Did he want it to be called that? Man, his mind was really wandering.

Troy was snapped out of his reverie with sharp jab from Chad's elbow.

"Ow.." Troy complained, rubbing his side, "what the hell was that for?"

Chad just grinned his goofy grin at him. "Got the hots for the new girl, yeah?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and Troy shoved him back.

"Whatever, dude. I don't even know the girl." But a smile was plastered on his face, and for a moment he forgot about all of his other issues. All he knew was that he wanted to talk to her. Gabriella, that is.

With that decisive thought, Troy shoved back his chair and stood up, ignoring his friends questions as he headed over towards Gabriella. He slowed a little when he saw she was talking to another guy. Not just any guy, either, she had to be talking to Logan Phillips, the biggest jackass in all of East High.

Her tray was in one hand, and the guy had a firm grip on the other. Troy caught a little of their conversation as he approached.

"You're _coming_ Friday," the guy said, giving Gabriella a little shake, "come on, have a little fun for once, why can't you come?"

Gabriella bit her lip, and kept her eyes focused on the floor. "I-I just."

"She's got plans with me." Troy stepped up to them, glaring. "Get your hands off her." Logan reluctantly obeyed, and seemed to give Troy a onceover.

"What, you two dating or something?" Logan snarled.

"Maybe. What's it matter to you?" Troy shrugged, gently taking Gabriella's hand and leading her away.

"Watch your back, Bolton!" Logan yelled after him, but Troy didn't even glance back over his shoulder, he just snorted. How cliche.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, suddenly remembering his hand was still clutched in Gabriella's. He could feel his face heating up.

Gabriella snatched her hand back. "Oh. Um, yeah. I'm fine." She stuttered, looking uncomfortable. "Thanks, I guess."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." They had stopped walking, and reached an empty table in the corner of the lunchroom. Gabriella sat down and set her tray in front of her. "And I wouldn't suggest hanging out with that Logan guy, he's a real jerk." Troy finished lamely.

"I wasn't planning on it," Gabriella muttered, awkwardly picking up her fork. "You can, you know, go back to your friends. If you want to."

"Oh no! I mean, unless you want me to. I've kinda lost my appetite these days anyway. Would you mind if I just sat here with you?"

Gabriella blushed, but nodded her consent, and Troy slid into the seat across from her. He could see Chad flashing him two thumbs up from across the room, but chose to ignore him.

An awkward silence lingered between them, and Troy struggled to fill it. "So," he started, "how do you like it here so far? At East High, I mean?"

Gabriella shifted in her seat. "It's alright, I guess. A little boring, but other than that it's fine."

"Yeah," Troy agreed, "There's not too much to do here except school and sports. Hey, you should hang out with me and my friends sometime. Next time you're, you know, bored."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

They fell back into an uneasy silence. Troy fiddled his thumbs while Gabriella ate her turkey sandwich and chips. Maybe he was a little hungry after all.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Troy jumped and Gabriella gave him a little smile.

"Thanks again," she said.

Troy was just planning on a smooth, 'sure, you're welcome,' but rather unexpectedly, he blurted, "you wanna go out with me on Friday?"

She looked taken aback and her mouth hung open for a moment before she snapped it closed. "Oh. I mean, yeah, I want to go out Friday. But, I don't think it's a good idea, I mean...Maybe another time?" She added hopefully, still looking flustered.

"Yeah, that's cool." Troy shrugged it off, "See you around, Gabriella." He grinned at her.

"See ya."

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Troy trudged through the grocery store muttering to himself. Stupid scrimmage. The basketball team had stayed after school to scrimmage, and he still donned his East High uniform.

His mom had called while he and his dad were on the way home, explaining how she forgot the lettuce for the salad. How do you forget _lettuce_ for a _salad?_ That's kind of the most important part.

She had begged, and Troy now found himself stalking through the aisles. How was he supposed to know his way around a grocery store? It wasn't even the one they normally went to. His dad needed to stop by the post office, so they were on the other side of town. The _west_. Home of West High, Troy's school's biggest rival.

Troy finally found the head of lettuce, the fresh produce was kind of hard to miss after all, and headed for the checkout. The girl behind the counter smacked her gum, and lazily scanned the lettuce. "2.81," she drawled.

Troy dug around in his pockets for a while and finally produced enough money in change. "Thanks," he muttered, grabbing the bag and heading to the door.

"Hey, wait!" It was the bag boy. Troy turned back around. "You play basketball for East High right?" the guy nodded towards his jersey. Well that much was obvious. "I'm the captain of West High." The kid drew himself up to his full height and Troy noticed that he was unnaturally tall.

"Hey, what do you know. I'm the captain of East."

"Troy, right?" The guy asked. "I'm Mitch. Can't wait to beat yall's ass this year." Troy just rolled his eyes and headed out the door, he could see his dad waiting in the truck outside. "Watch your back, Bolton!" Oh please. Two times in one day.

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"So, Troy, how was your day?" Troy's mom, Lucille, set a freshly made salad down in front of him.

"Fine," he replied, his mind obviously in a different place. "Yours?"

His mother looked pleased that he'd asked. "It was great! I got plenty of errands done and I got your father here," she looked over to Jack, "a surprise." She smiled at him, lifting one eyebrow suggestively.

Jack grinned right back, "And what is this said surprise," he looked genuinely interested.

Troy felt sick. How was he such a good actor? If he didn't know, if he hadn't seen with his own eyes that he was cheating, he wouldn't have believed it himself.

Lucille squealed. "I was going to wait till your birthday to tell you, but I just don't think I can." She walked around the table and sat in the chair across from him. "We're going! You know how you've always wanted to go see the world? Well we are! I mean, not the _whole_ world obviously but a little bit of it. You see, my sister has a good friend in the travel business, and she said-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Jack was laughing, a little twinkle in his eye. "Where exactly are we going? And when?"

"Well, I thought first we could-" Lucille started up again.

"Mom, don't go." Troy wasn't exactly sure when he had opened his mouth or decided that he was going to talk, but apparently he had. His mind was screaming at him, '_don't tell. don't tell.'_

Lucille looked confused. "Why not, hun? Oh!" she looked relieved again, "we won't be gone long of course! Just a few weeks. And Aunt Mary has already said it would be no problem for you to stay with her. You'd be alright, wouldn't--"

And then, before Troy even knew what was happening, it just slipped out. "He's cheating on you."

oOo

_Review :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi! Thanks so much to everyoneee for the reviews! You guys are the best! I tried to finish this chapter extra quick. Hope it doesn't disappoint..._

oOo

"He's cheating on you." It just came out. Troy didn't even know he had said it out loud, for a second, until he realized all movement at the table had stopped. Lucille's fork clattered to her plate, and she looked up at Troy, shocked.

"What?" She asked. Troy noticed Jack's hands were clenched into tight fists, and he was glaring at him.

Troy had already said it. He may as well go all out now. "He's cheating on you. With my teacher." Lucille's mouth dropped open and there was even more tense silence.

"How--How long?" she managed to get out. Troy took a deep breathe, but didn't get to finish.

"This is ridiculous! Lucille, don't listen to him. Do you really trust him over me?" Jack was standing now. "I love you, baby," he tried to sound gentle, but it somehow still came across as angry.

Lucille looked back and forth between Troy and Jack. Jack was staring down Troy, warning him not to open his mouth again. He did anyway. "I saw them. A few weeks ago. They were on the couch and--"

"Enough!" Jack roared. "Troy. Up to your room, NOW. I don't want to hear any more of this from you." Troy obediently shoved back from the table and stormed up to his room.

He collapsed on his bed and briefly closed his eyes. What had he _done?_ It was quiet for a minute, but soon he heard yelling from downstairs. He pulled his pillow up over his head to try and drown out their shouts, but it didn't work.

After what seemed like hours, there were footsteps on the stairs and finally, a definitive, "I'm _leaving_."

Troy's heart stopped. _What?_ There is no way. No way his mother was leaving; it was just to crazy. Hesitant, Troy climbed out of bed and went to his door. He stuck his head out into the hallway and saw his parent's bedroom door open at the end of the hall. He went to investigate.

Inside, his mother was frantically throwing clothes into a suitcase, her face tearstained. She looked up at Troy when he entered. "I'm sorry baby," she explained, "I really am, it's just-"

Jack cut her off when he barged into the room. "No!" He shouted, "You don't understand, Lucille. I can't-I don't know what I'll do without you." He looked lost, angry, and sad all at the same time. "Please."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I just can't do this right now." She snapped her suitcase closed and went into the bathroom, emerging a few seconds later with her toothbrush and shampoo. "I just need some time to sort this out and figure out what to do." She shoved them into a pocket on her bag.

"Stay," Jack pleaded, "give me another shot. I promise-"

She cut him off. "I can't. I'm sorry."

Troy had watched the exchange silently until now. "Can I go with you, Mom?" he said quietly.

Lucille sighed and ran a hand through her already messy hair. "Troy," she closed her eyes for a second, "I know you don't understand right now, but I just need to be alone for a little while. Figure this out." She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "You'll be fine, right?"

Troy looked over to his emotionally drained father and shrugged. "I guess so." Lucille came over and crushed him in a hug. He hugged back, realizing this might be his last time to see her for a while. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, honey. I love you." She kissed the top of his head, stood up, and grabbed her suitcase. "I'll miss you." She turned to Troy's father. "Goodbye, Jack."

Jack looked horrible. He trailed behind Lucille all the way to the front door like a lost dog, and watched her walk out, get in her car, and drive away. He stared out the window for a few moments before turning around. Troy stood at the bottom of the stairs, unaware what one was supposed to do in this situation. Should he try and comfort his dad? Jack soon answered that question for him.

"You," Jack said, his eyes narrowed into the most terrifying glare Troy had ever seen. "What have you done! You idiot! Why did you have to _tell _her?"

"Oh, I don't know," Troy threw his hands up in anger, "maybe a little thing called honesty? You should try it sometime Dad, really." Jack let out a growl. An actual _growl_, and lunged towards Troy. He darted out of the way just in time, and hopped to the other side of the couch. "Was it worth it, Dad?" Troy knew he was just angering his father more, but his temper had taken over and there was nothing he could do. "Was Ms. Lewis worth mom leaving?"

Jack yelled again and ran around the couch, but Troy was fast. He backed into the kitchen before his father could catch him. They faced each other from opposite sides of the island in the middle of the room. Jack and Troy looked equally livid.

"You _bastard_. How could you even say that!" Jack picked up a plate and chucked it at Troy, who ducked. It shattered behind him.

"Maybe I'm curious. Why'd you do it, _dad._" Troy spit the word out like he was ashamed, ducking more kitchenware while he said it.

"You little shit!" Jack was advancing around the counter. "You don't know anything." He jumped at Troy, who prepared to dash off again but Jack caught his ankle. Troy's cheek hit the corner of the table on his way down, and he managed to catch himself with his hands before smashing into the ground. Troy scrambled to his feet but was knocked right back down again when a heavy fist collided with his cheek. He yelled out.

Jack was in a blind rage. He was screaming, hitting, and kicking while Troy desperately scrambled backwards until his back hit the cabinets. "Dad, stop it!" he yelled.

"No! Not until you say it wasn't my fault!"

Troy was incredulous. "But it _was_ your fault. If you hadn't _cheated_ on her none of this would have happened!" He lifted his hand to shield another blow, and tried once again to get to his feet unsuccessfully.

"Say it!" The blows stopped for a moment, and Troy cautiously lowered his arms to see what was happening. Bad idea. Jack had a frying pan held dangerously high above his head.

"Fine! It wasn't your fault!" Troy called out, but it was too late. The pan connected with the side of Troy's head and all he knew was darkness.

oOo

"Alright! Everybody back on the line. Since _Troy_ here can't seem to keep up, we've got five more suicides. Stop your grumbling!" Coach Bolton urged the team to the line.

They jogged over reluctantly, and Jason gave Troy a little shove. "Come on man, what's your problem today?" Troy just shrugged, and braced himself for the start.

The whistle blew, and they were off. Troy's body ached more with every step, and his head's pounding was increasing in intensity. Distantly, he heard his father yelling at him, and he knew he was lagging behind his other teammates. He urged his legs to move just a little faster, his arms pumping. By some miracle, Troy crossed the line even with everyone else.

Coach Bolton grumbled, but called off practice. "Alright boys, hit the showers." he said, "and I'm expecting better tomorrow!" The team headed for the locker room, but Troy was called back.

He jogged up to his father. "Don't shower yet," he told him, "drop your backpack off in the truck. I'll meet you at home."

Troy suppressed his groan, but didn't dare to complain. Instead he glared at his feet. "Yes, sir," he ground out. Just what he needed, to strain his injuries even _more_. His dad did this when he was mad at him, made him run home from school instead of giving him a ride.

He was a couple miles away from the school, and a couple more away from his house when he saw, in the distance, the back of a dark, curly head. _Gabriella_, Troy thought. He quickened his pace a little until he caught up, and settled into a walk beside her. She was surprised at first, but calmed down when she realized who it was.

"Hey," she said quietly.

Troy panted for a second, catching his breath, before responding. "Hey." They walked in silence for a while until Troy questioned, "do you always walk home from school?"

He looked over to her, and she nodded.

"This is an awful long way to walk every day."

She blushed a little. "Yeah, well I'm almost back anyway. Just a few more houses down." There was a brief silence. "Do you always run home from school?"

Troy chuckled. "No, not really. Only when my dad is pissed at me."

"And he is now?"

Troy ducked his head down. "Yeah, long story."

"Oh," she said, accepting his lack of explanation. "Well, this is it." She gestured to the house beside them. It was medium sized, well kept, and overall looked pretty normal.

"Cool," Troy turned into the walk with her, and stopped when they reached the front door. "I'll see you at the game Friday night?" Troy asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Gabriella flushed. "Um. Maybe. I guess, if I can make it."

"Great!" Troy lightened up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gabriella!"

She nodded and went inside her house.

Troy ignored all his pains and grinned the rest of the way home.

oOo

_Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!_


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